Chapter 314: Hooked (Patreon)

On the other side-

Justin Hammer watched the live broadcast on TV, seeing Charles Doyle receiving applause on stage and Tony Stark appearing in the opening shot. He then headed to his steel armor factory with the parrot he brought with him.

"Hey, Ivan, your delivery is here."

"There's a gift!"

Ivan, who was modifying the steel armor, put down his tools upon seeing Justin Hammer's arrival and descended from the shelf.

Justin Hammer had a smile on his face as he said joyfully, "I brought something for you."

He placed the birdcage, covered with a cloth, on the table. Hammer pulled off the cloth and said with a smile, "Brother, look at what I brought you, your bird!"

Ivan looked at the birdcage with a frown. "This is not my bird."

"What do you mean? This is your bird, I went to great lengths to find it."

"It's a fantastic bird and very beautiful."

"I even brought it all the way from Russia."

Ivan slapped the table. "This is not my bird."

Hammer fell silent for a moment and then spoke, "Even if it's not your bird, this bird is still beautiful. Don't be so stubborn; you have to learn to let go."

Ivan looked at the parrot in the cage without saying a word. Hammer, in that moment, saw something different about his Iron Man armor.

"Wait a minute, what's that?"

"That... that's not a helmet, is it?"

Justin Hammer walked up and removed the head of the Iron Man armor, carrying it down with him.

"Ivan, what is this?"

Justin handed the mechanical head to Jack and then said, "Jack, is this a helmet? It doesn't look like one."

Then, he turned to Ivan and asked, "How are you going to fit your head into this?"

"Jack, can your head fit into it?"

"No, it can't. It simply won't fit."

While speaking, Jack also tried putting on the mechanical head, demonstrating that it was impossible.

"Ivan, his head can't fit in it. It's not a helmet; it's a head."

"I have to fit a person inside it. This suit of Iron Man armor has to be wearable, you know?"

Ivan replied indifferently, "Unmanned is better."

"What? Unmanned is better? Why is it better?"

"People make mistakes. Believe me, unmanned is better."

Justin rubbed his head and then said, "Ivan, you know I like you. I even got you a bird. You promised me it would be okay."

"It was you who said it; you said it was okay. Now I want the Iron Man armor. The government wants the Iron Man armor, like Iron Man's."

"Do you understand? That's what everyone wants, and that's what will make them happy."

At this moment, Ivan walked up to Justin Hammer. "Brother, don't be so stubborn. You have to learn to let go."

Hearing Ivan use his own words against him, Hammer angrily said, "You better make sure these things become popular."

"Do you understand? They better make me famous."

After speaking, Justin Hammer left with his assistant, leaving the steel armor production facility.

...

As Charles finished his speech, the first orphanage of the Heart-to-Heart Charity Foundation was officially completed.

Now, Charles descended from the stage, greeting various individuals who approached him.

After exchanging pleasantries with government officials, the sturdy figure of Kingpin appeared in front of Charles.

"Mr. Charles, long time no see."

"Haha, it's Kingpin. Thanks for coming."

Kingpin approached and shook hands with Charles, then said, "Within a kilometer around this orphanage, whether it's day or night, no gang members will do business or engage in fights. This is something insignificant I can do for this orphanage."

"You've done well. That's enough."

Charles knew that even in Midtown, it was impossible to prevent incidents 24/7. However, Kingpin dared to make such a promise in Hell's Kitchen, indicating he could deliver it.

After Kingpin finished speaking, he didn't linger for more small talk with Charles. He stood up and bid farewell.

This place had too many people who knew his identity, and there were also many he couldn't afford to offend. With his personality, he didn't like to stay in such an environment for long.

Watching Kingpin leave, Tony also walked over. "Buddy, who is that guy? He's so muscular."

"He, he's barely considered a spice merchant, but his main business is something you probably don't want to know."

Hearing Charles's words, Tony glanced at Kingpin, who was dressed in a white suit. However, he didn't pay much attention.

"I felt like you had something to say to me earlier, but Rhodes was present..."

Charles brought Tony to a less crowded corner and spoke:

"You wanted to know about the extraordinary world, right?"

"In a while, there will be a battle with an invasion from Hell. Do you want to experience it?"

"Hell? Is there really a Hell?"

Tony's face was full of surprise. "Do you really mean there is Hell?"

Looking at Tony's astonished expression, Charles said seriously, "Indeed, there is Hell. It's another dimension with various demons that have always wanted to disturb our world."

"But it's different from the myths. Do you want to experience how extraordinary individuals protect the world?"

At this moment, Tony's face was full of eagerness, but he immediately confirmed, "Are my weapons effective against them?"

If he could only be a spectator, Tony wouldn't accept it. If possible, he wanted to join in.

"They are effective, but I suggest you prepare some spare Mark armors and some heavy weapons!"

"This is so interesting! I won't attend the banquet later. I'll immediately go back to upgrade my equipment. You must take me with you then."

"I will definitely surprise you with my performance!"

After saying these words, Tony left in high spirits. This kind of news excited him like never before.

In the past half year, he had searched for the extraordinary world, investigated Charles's ninjas, but it was always like looking at a distant mountain through fog—very indistinct.

If it weren't for the occasional appearance of ninjas, Tony would have thought Charles was deceiving him. Unexpectedly, this time he had the opportunity to enter the extraordinary world, to understand everything inside. This was very attractive to him.

Watching Tony leave, Charles's mouth curled up in a slight smile.

There was now one more helper, and at the same time, he felt a little sorry for Ivan. Faced with Tony, who had just been completely upgraded, Ivan might end up losing miserably!